Using a walking pole, Randy Brown lightly tapped the floor in front of the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club Community Center just after dawn on Tuesday.

So began a journey he has dubbed the Salton Sea Walk, a 116-mile, six-day trek around the entire shoreline of the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, with a goal of shining light on the plight of the dying body of water.

“See you back here in six days,” said the Rancho Cucamonga resident, as a small crowd that had gathered for the sendoff cheered him on.

For the past 14 months, Brown has been extensively training for his walk by mapping out every single foot of the shorelines, training in humidity, in temperatures as high as 119 degrees and preparing for the unexpected.

“I’ve seen the water level drop drastically, about 100 yards,” said Brown, adding items that were once under water can now be reached by the dry shore bed. “It still shocks me how much it has gone down, and it’s only going to get worse.”

He could be the first person to navigate every mile of the shoreline and along the way he has become a local celebrity, said filmmaker Blake Alexander who is documenting the journey with two other film crew members. Alexander has trained with Brown most of the last year and recalls recently when they were at a restaurant in Brawley.

“The waiter says, ‘Oh Randy, the Salton Sea guy,’” Alexander said.

On Monday night, a man pulled up to their campground just to greet Brown and offer support.

Alexander and his documentary crew will follow him through the walk, which is expected to end Sunday afternoon. The crew will film him as he walked, by boat, and on Tuesday even used a drone to capture the start.

About a dozen residents, friends and family came out to support Brown as he began his trek.

Leland Phillips of Menifee got up at 3 a.m. and drove 95 miles to support Brown. A photographer, Phillips said he learned about Brown’s mission while watching a video on YouTube several months ago. Since then, he’s been following his journey on Facebook. Tuesday marked the first time he met Brown.

“I wanted to come out here and start the walk with him,” said Phillips, who joined Brown for the first few minutes of the walk. “You can ask 10 people about the Salton Sea, and they don’t know where it is in our backyard. I think it’s great that he’s bringing attention to the Salton Sea and trying to save it.”

Celia Garcia lives across street from the community center and in the same apartment complex Brown has been using as his base camp for the past month and a half.

Garcia said she first learned about Brown through friends and other groups that work with saving the sea.

“I think it is fabulous, the more attention that’s brought to the fact the sea needs to be saved is best,” she said. “No one has ever really taken this approach before. It really is bringing awareness.”

Garcia said Brown’s journey serves as a reminder for her and her neighbors about the beauty of the lake.

“It brings about this nostalgic feel of what it was and potentially what it can be again,” she said. “People get caught up in the politics of saving the sea and we don’t really get to focus on the fact that it’s this living thing in front of us – I think that’s what Randy does.”

Brown intends to hold several live broadcasts throughout the journey, depending on reception or if “I’m bored.” On the first day he was able to livestream his walk on social media four times.

A self-employed Web designer, Brown had documented his arduous training regime on various social media accounts and Tuesday was no different.

By midday he had posted to his Facebook page numerous times, often indicating his current location. He has also shared locations, such as state parks or campgrounds, where the public can come out to support him during his walk.

On his journey, Brown will likely have to contend with triple-digit heat, perhaps thunderstorms, the latter of which he didn’t necessarily anticipate in his months of training.

On the first day, the gray skies held off until the end of his walk, near the 20-mile mark, when it began to rain.

“It did rain on me a little,” said Brown, who was sporting his signature outfit of gray shirt and gray shorts.

The overcast day actually provided Brown with slightly cooler conditions as temperatures hovered in the high 80s. Despite the wind and humidity on the first day, Brown was able to finish the 22-mile leg at the Niland Marina on Tuesday as he planned.

“It was a great start. It was pretty uneventful but that was expected,” he said on his way back to the basecamp.

The cool temperatures worked to his advantage but he is well aware that temperatures are expected to reach 110 degrees by the end of the week. To try to avoid being in the heat too long, Brown will begin walking a little after sunrise each day.

The hardest part of the trek will come Thursday when he will have to cross two rivers and trudge quicksand-like mud for several miles. Brown was concerned about weather reports of thunderstorms and the impact it could have when he has to walk that section of the shoreline.

John Sears, his father-in-law who is serving as the operations manager for the trek, said the last two days were hard for Brown, adding he hardly slept Sunday night just from the excitement.

“Randy’s done so much work, and he’s really got it down to a science. I’ve got my schedule, down to the minute,” he said, referring to the detailed itinerary for the journey. “It is very well thought-out.”

Brown said he remained focused on the effort to bring attention to the Salton Sea, which is at risk of drying up as the toll of falling water levels and reduced agricultural water runoff that has traditionally fed the lake intensifies.

“I’ve been everywhere and I’m ready for this,” he said. “A lot of people are watching.”

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